The Foundations of a Cyber-Secure Supply Chain – Guest Post.
More and more people are buying into cybersecurity. As we mentioned in Chris Windley’s article on small businesses partnering up with MSP to help them with their cybersecurity concerns, the number of our MSP partners has increased from two partners to around 30 within the last year.
These numbers are expected to go up as many industries across the globe shift to a work from home setup. CNN details that the global pandemic has disrupted everyone from small market vendors to big businesses that have been forced to adapt to new working environments.
And while the adjustments to working from home present its own challenges, one can’t overlook the increasing importance of cybersecurity. This is especially true for industries that are common targets of cyberattacks. Threat Report details that half of all cyberattacks were aimed at supply chains back in 2019. Considering that supply chains have already been hindered by the pandemic, they warrant a closer look. If you want to learn more about what you can do to address this issue, read on for the foundations of a cyber-secure supply chain!
Know the Risks
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Now, you have to familiarise yourself with the most common threats to get a good grasp on cybersecurity for supply chains. One common issue that comes up when discussing cybersecurity and supply chains is how normal devices can become threat vectors. This is due to the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT). Verizon Connect describes how GPS tracking is essential in monitoring supply chains. This has vastly improved supply chains from an efficiency standpoint. Supply Chain Beyond details that IoT devices allow for better monitoring and inventory management to help prevent and predict device failure.
However, this has the potential to be abused by hackers as a way to get into your system and turn what was originally a good thing against you. This is why the first thing you have to do is to ensure that all IoT devices have been thoroughly checked with encryption implemented at all points in the IoT ecosystem.
No Third Party Breaches
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Another thing you have to be wary of is third party breaches. Dark Reading highlights that back in 2018 nearly 60% of data breaches stemmed from a third party. This is a serious issue as SMBs don’t always have sufficient resources to manage their third-party relationships to prevent these types of breaches from happening.
With that being said there are some things you can do to protect yourself from this problem. One simple fix is to rigorously screen all third parties and ensure that they meet specific security standards that you’ve set. This way the burden to protect your data isn’t solely on your shoulders. If you’ve got the resources to spare, you can also make use of a third-party audit just to make sure that your partners are compliant with your security standards.
Train Your Team
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Lastly, one of the best things you can do to protect yourself from cyberattacks is to train your team. Entrepreneur stresses the importance of cybersecurity awareness training in preventing and fending off cyberattacks of all kinds.
The training will include but will not be limited to password security, identifying phishing and spear-phishing attempts, and identifying malware. Think of your team as a human firewall that defends your supply chain from hackers that may try to trick them into giving up sensitive information.
Written by Bayrose Jeanne
exclusively for lujam.com